Grey by-election, 1917

Grey by-election, 1917

24 December 1917 (1917-12-24)

Candidate Paddy Webb Party Labour Popular vote elected unopposed

Member before election Paddy Webb Labour Elected Member Paddy Webb Labour

The Grey by-election of 1917 was a by-election held during the 18th New Zealand Parliament.

Background

After the outbreak of World War I, Grey MP Paddy Webb became a leading critic of the Reform government of William Massey's policy of conscription, leading him to be briefly jailed for sedition in April 1917. In October the same year, Webb was called up for the military himself though he refused to co-operate. To back up his decision, he resigned from his seat in Parliament and challenged the government to fight a by-election on the issue in the hopes of gaining a public mandate for his decision.^[1] However, Massey's government declined, refusing to make the episode a public one. As a result, Webb was returned to his seat in Parliament unopposed.^[2]

References

« (1891–1911) «   By-elections in New Zealand in the multi-party era (1912–1938)   » (1939–1995) » 18th Parliament Egmont, 1912 Grey, 1913 Lyttelton, 1913 19th Parliament Dunedin Central, 1915 Bay of Islands, 1915 Taumarunui, 1915 Pahiatua, 1916 Hawke's Bay, 1917 Bay of Islands, 1917 Grey, 1917 Wellington North, 1918 Southern Maori, 1918 Grey, 1918 Wellington Central, 1918 Taranaki, 1918 Palmerston, 1918 Wellington South, 1918 20th Parliament Bruce, 1920 Stratford, 1920 Bay of Plenty, 1920 Patea, 1921 Auckland East, 1921 Southern Maori, 1922 Dunedin North, 1922 21st Parliament Tauranga, 1923 Oamaru, 1923 Franklin, 1925 22nd Parliament Eden, 1926 Raglan, 1927 23rd Parliament Bay of Islands, 1929 Hutt, 1929 Parnell, 1930 Invercargill, 1930 Waipawa, 1930 Western Maori, 1930 Hauraki, 1931 24th Parliament Southern Maori, 1932 Motueka, 1932 Lyttelton, 1933 Buller, 1933 Lyttelton, 1935 25th Parliament Manukau, 1936